Pile-wire



(No Model.)

C. FORD. PILE WIRE.

No. 479,211. :Patented July 19, 1892.

a *di With/66666. Innen/607". /Wf I /M UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

CHARLES FORD, OF LOVELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

PILE-WIRE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 479,211, dated July 19,1892.

Application iiled J une 4, 1891. Serial No. 395,055. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES FORD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth ofMassachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inPile Wires, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to pile-wires; and it consists in the improvedmeans hereinafter described of securing such wires to their heads.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of apile-wireand head made according to my invention, the free end of the wire beingprovided with a cutting-edge; Fig. 2, a side elevation of a pile-Wirewithout a knife and a head of slightly-different form from that shown inFig. l; Fig. 3, a horizontal cross-section on the line 3 3 in Fig. l;Fig. 4, a similar section on theline 4 4 in Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a verticalsection on the line 5 5 in Fig. l; Fig. 6, a Vertical section on theline 6 6 in Fig. 2.

Pile-wires such as are used in forming the loops which project from theface of pile fabrics require to be narrow enough to make the loops ofthe proper size and sti enough to reach entirely across the fabricWithout sagging or lateral bending or displacement. They are thereforeusually made of steel, tempered, and are secured in heads adapted to beengaged by suitable devices for withd rawing the wires from the loopsafter the loops are formed, and the heads require to be very thin inorder to allow several pile-Wires to remain in their respective rows ofloops for some time after the last row of Vloops is formed, live or sixor more wires being in an equal number of rows of loops at the same timein order to support the loops nearest the making end of the fabric, thepile-wire farthest from the making end being first drawn from the loops,so that the distance from the middle of one head to the middle of thenext adjacent head cannot be greater than the distance from the middleline of one row of loops to the middle line of the next adjacent row ofloops. The heads are therefore about a sixteenth of an inch in thicknessand are usually made of sheet metal slotted entirely through to receivethe end of the wire proper,

which is secured in the slot so formed by brazing. Brazing the wiresinto the heads usually draws the temper of the wire for a short distancefrom the heads and makes the h wires extremely liable to be bentlaterally at this point, it requiring considerable force to withdraw thewires from the loops, especially such of the wires as have been left intheloops over night or over a Sundayor other holiday, the loopsfrequently contracting on the wires and holding them so iirmly thatWhere the pile is to be cutit is frequently cut by hand beforeattempting to remove the Wires. Again, the strain of the wires on theheads, where the heads are slotted entirely through, frequently spreadsthe sides of the slot apart and releases the wires; and the Wires aremore easily twisted out of the slots because said wires are united tothe heads only at the top and bottom of the wires.

By the means hereinafter described I prevent the spreading apart of thesides of the wire-receiving slot and provide a greater contact-surfacebetween the head and the wire.

In the drawings two kinds of wires A A are shown, the wire A(represented in Figs. 1, 3, and 5) being a wire nearly rectangular incross-section, but slightly rounded at the corners at a, (see Fig. 5,)and at the outer free end or end farthest from the head B flattened andvertically or upwardly enlarged and sharpened to form a cutting-edge a2,which cuts the loops as the pile-Wire is Withdrawn from them to make afabric similar to velvet or cut velvet, plush, velveteens,'or Wiltoncarpets. The wire A (shown in Fig. 2) is more nearly round, but hasslightly-dattened vertical sides, and is straight and of uniformcross-section, and does not cut the loops when withdrawn from them, butleaves them whole, as in uncut or terry velvet and Brussels carpet-s. Inboth cases the wires proper A A are usually secured in their respectiveheads B B by the means above described.

Instead of slotting the heads entirely through in the usual manner, Idrill a hole b b in the head B B of a sufficient diameter to receive theends of the wire and groove or slot the head at b2 b3 partly through, asshown at Figs. 5 and 6, from said hole b b to the end of the head, toreceive the wire and IOO then sweat or solder with soft solder thel headand the wire proper together, this operation not drawing the temper ofthe wire as brazing would do, and the preliminary drawing of the wireabove mentioned not extending the entire length of the slot in the head,so that when the operation is com-` pleted the part of the wire outsideof the head and for some distance within the slot still retains itshardness and temper. The slot b2 b5 is preferably narrower at its openside, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, so as to be in effect a dovetail slot,to prevent the wire being drawn laterally out of its slot, while theengagement of the wire with the hole b b prevents the wire being drawnendwise out of said slot and also, assisted by the shape of said wireand said slot, prevents the wire from turning in said head.

I claim as myinvention- 1. The combination of a iiat metallic pilewirehead provided in one of its sides with a groove or slot cut to a depthless than the thickness of said head and a pile-wire secured in saidslot, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the flat metallic head provided with a groove orslot of less depth than the thickness of said head, said slot beingnarrowest at its open side, and the pile-wire inserted in said slot andsecured therein, as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of the flat metallic head provided with a hole andprovided in one of its sides with a groove or slot extending nearly tothe opposite side of said head and from said hole to the end of saidhead and the pile-wire inserted in said slot and bent into said hole, asand for the purpose specified;

4. The combination of the head provided with a hole and with a slot orgroove of less depth than the thickness of said head and extending fromsaid hole to the end of said head, said slot being narrower at its openside, and the pile-wire inserted in said slot and bent into said hole,as and for the purpose speci- 5. The combination of the flat metallichead provided with a hole and with a slot or groove extending nearly tothe opposite side of said head and from said hole to the end of saidhead and `the pile-wire inserted in said slot and bent into said holeand secured to said head by sweating or soldering with soft solder, asand for the purpose specified.

6. The combination of the head provided with a hole and with a slot orgroove of less depth than the thickness of said head and extending fromsaid hole to the end of said head, said slot being narrower at its openside, and the pilewireinserted in said slot and bent into said hole andsecured to said head by sweating or soldering with soft solder, as andfor the purpose specified.

In witness whereof I have signed this specication, in the presence oftwo attesting witnesses, this 1st day of June, A. D. 1891.

CHARLES FORD.

Vitnesses:

ALBERT M. MOORE, JosEPH W. PIPER.

